This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 091218980, filed on Nov. 25, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a thermal cup, more particularly to a thermal cup that enables quick and uniform distribution of temperature of liquid contained in the cup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional thermal cup 1 is shown to include a cup body 11 having inner and outer walls 112, 111, a vacuum sealed chamber 12 cooperatively confined by the inner and outer walls 112, 111, and a space 13 confined by the inner wall 112 of the cup body 11 for containing liquid therein, and a cap 14 for closing removably an open mouth of the cup body 11.
In use, after a liquid is poured into the space 13 of the cup body 11 and the cap 14 is fitted in place, the vacuum sealed chamber 12 provides a heat-insulating effect to prevent convection between the liquid in the cup body 11 and the ambient air so as to maintain the temperature of the liquid. However, in actual use, the heat-insulating effect is not satisfactory. In addition, the liquid in the upper and lower parts of the space 13 does not have a uniform temperature, which may result in scalding or freezing of the user""s tongue during drinking.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a thermal cup that has a thermal conductor unit disposed therein to ensure quick and uniform distribution of temperature of liquid contained in the cup, and that provides a good heat-insulating effect.
Accordingly, a thermal cup of the present invention includes:
a hollow inner cup body having an open mouth and a closed bottom, the inner cup body including an inner surrounding wall and an outer surrounding wall that confine an enclosed chamber therebetween, the inner surrounding wall further confining a space for containing liquid therein;
an outer cup body made of a heat insulating material, disposed to surround the outer surrounding wall of the inner cup body, and cooperating with the outer surrounding wall of the inner cup body to confine a clearance therebetween; and
a thermal conductor unit provided on the outer surrounding wall of the inner cup body and disposed in the clearance.